DeltaRho 500
Obstech Observatory
Autonomous.
Optimized.
Next-generation.
Sea West installed a PlaneWave DeltaRho 500 telescope for remote observing at ObsTech Observatory in Chile.
About the observatory
ObsTech Observatory is located in the Rio Hurtado Valley of Chile and began operation in 2015. ObsTech is a fully automated remote observatory with on-site technical support staff that offers affordable pier spots for astronomers, astrophotographers, and commercial satellite tracking companies. The observatory location was selected out of multiple prospective sites in the southern Atacama Desert region due to the excellent seeing conditions and with over 300 clear nights per year. ObsTech features over a dozen custom built roll-off-roof observatories that are fully automated to open during clear skies and automatically close during cloudy, or inclement weather. ObsTech has a highly trained staff that maintains and optimizes over 100 installed telescope systems as of 2023 from around the world and continues to add additional observatory buildings for new telescopes.
Domes
16’-6” Ash Dome
Telescopes
PlaneWave CDK700
Cameras
Moravian C5-150 monochrome, ZWO ASI6200MC, and ZWO ASI533MC
Astrophotography
Visual Observing
Public Outreach
Robotic Observatory
Software Automation
Project Scope
Sea West was hired to install a remote telescope system at ObsTech that would be used for advanced astrophotography. While the original scope called for a single telescope on one L-550 mount, later however it was expanded to become a dual system.
The primary telescope being a PlaneWave DR500 F/3 telescope with a large Moravian C5-150 camera. The secondary telescope to be installed was a client provided rare Takahashi FSQ-130ED that we installed a near identical image train to. Together these two systems have been providing the client with an excellent range of high resolution, wide field, and fast optics.
All of this equipment and automation fully controlled by our observatory management system allowing low downtime and remote servicing. ObsTech has been a great partner to work with and Sea West looks forward to working with their team on future projects.
Partners
Sea West partnered with Observatory Solutions, WSCS Design, Ash Manufacturing, PlaneWave Instruments, and Observatory Automation Solutions on this project.
